Infosys to start next appraisal cycle as pending hikes drag on
The countrys second largest IT exporter will start its ‘performance review cycle–October 2023 with self-evaluation on September 29, according to an email sent to managers. Manager evaluation will happen by October-end while rating will be communicated to individual employees in the first week of December, said the email, a copy of which ET has seen. Key Points
Economic TimesStock Market LIVE: Sensex, Nifty to start on positive note; Gift Nifty in green
Share Market LIVE Updates: Benchmark indices are expected to start in the green territory after record-high closings on Friday as Gifit Nifty is trading higher. Wall Street ended lower in the Friday session, while Asian markets are trading on a mixed note in the morning session on Monday. Key Points
MintIndian shares open lower on rate fears after Powell's testimony
Indian shares opened lower after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the likelihood of aggressive rate hikes to tackle inflation. Key Points
India TodayGlobal central banks nearing ‘prolonged pause phase’, but not as yet
After the synchronised hikes of last year, the past few months saw diverging monetary policies. While China, Vietnam cut their policy rate, several Asian central banks paused while the US, EU, UK continued to hike. Key Points
FinancialexpressEconomists expect prolonged rate pause
The central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) opted to hold the repo rate at 6.5% following six consecutive hikes since May last year, citing the need to evaluate the effects of the past increases. Key Points
mint
Auto staff may see another year of double-digit hikes
India's automotive sector employers are likely to offer higher than average pay rises in 2024 to retain talent. The average pay rise is expected to be 10.5% for automotive producers and 10% for suppliers, according to Deloitte's study. This trend is driven by high attrition, focus on electric vehicles, and robust auto industry performance. Key Points
Economic TimesConfused cop! Will conflicting signals from Jerome Powell stop Nifty from hitting record high?
After the US Federal Reserve's rate-setting panel meeting, Jerome Powell has left the Nifty bulls confused with his dovish and hawkish tones. Although a pause in Fed's 500 bps rate hiking cycle was expected, Powell's hints of future rate hikes have spooked investors. However, the short-term impact may see more foreign investors attracted to Indian markets. Interest rates remaining high for longer may impact global growth with negative implications for equities. Key Points
Economic TimesIndian IT shares log best day in 3 years on easing rate worries, strong deal pipeline
Shares of Indian information technology companies surged 4.5% on Friday, in their biggest one-day jump since September 2020, boosted by strong deal pipelines and rising expectations of an imminent pause in U.S. rate hikes. Key Points
ReutersBetter pay hikes in the offing for manufacturing sector
A majority of companies (60%) are planning to hand out better increments this year compared to last year, found a survey conducted by CIEL HR Services, the findings of which were shared exclusively with ET. The survey tracked about 720 companies employing more than 800,000 employees across the country to ascertain the appraisal and hiring sentiments in the manufacturing sector. Key Points
Economic TimesInfosys to roll out average 80% variable pay for Q1
This comes as India's second largest IT firm paid 60% variable last quarter on an average. The company has also not rolled out annual hikes for employees for the year FY23. Previous hikes were paid in July 2022. Key Points
Economic Times
Wipro, HCLTech Q1 FY24: Deferred salary hikes, cut backs on variable pay
HCLTech's management noted that they are taking active steps to get on track to match their previous projections. One of these steps is deferment of salary hikes for a section of the staff. Similar developments were observed at Wipro. Key Points
Business TodayIncreased competition likely to prompt telcos to delay tariff hikes to next fiscal
Private telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are expected to defer the next round of prepaid tariff increases until April 2024, following intense competition to acquire higher-paying customers and a weak consumption environment. This delay is amid heightened competition as telcos acquire high ARPU customers and aggressive 5G roll-out plans, with low probability for tariff hikes in the near term. Key Points
Economic TimesIncrements take double-digit route this year: Survey
At least six of every 10 employees have received increments in double digits, 10% and above, according to the survey conducted by Naukri.com for ET. A small percentage, mostly at entry level, got 20-25% hikes for exceptional performance. Key Points
Economic TimesSalary hikes likely to remain flat this year
Engineering firms and non-banking financing companies (NBFCs) are likely to give hikes of over 10%, according to Aon. This set is followed by automobiles, financial institutions, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), tech platforms & products, professional services and global capability centres (GCCs), where increases are seen in the 9.5-9.9% range. Key sectors that see increases slowing include ecommerce (to 9.2% from 9.6%), retail (8.4% from 9.2%), startups (8.5% from 9%), and tech consulting & services (8.2% to 9.1%). Key Points
Economic TimesIndia market capitalisation at a record high in rupee terms; mid, smallcaps hit fresh highs
BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap hit all-time highs, pushing the overall market-cap of BSE-listed firms to record high levels, despite the benchmark Sensex falling over 150 points. The US Fed's hawkish pause and projection of two rate hikes in 2023 has impacted market sentiment. Key Points
mint
Emerging markets set for February decline as rate hike fears dampen mood
A rally in EM stocks at the beginning of 2023 has petered out in recent weeks after signs of strength in the U.S economy fueled fears of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and geopolitical risks including heightened U.S.-China tensions also weighed on sentiment. Key Points
India TodayConsumer companies likely to see high single-digit pay hikes
Pay hikes in 2024 for consumer companies are expected to be in high single digits, slightly lower than last year. The slowdown in rural demand and competition from regional players have impacted the pay hikes. The projected salary increments for this sector will be in the range of 8.5-9.8%, stable compared to the last three years. Last year, pay hikes were better after two years of disruptions caused by the pandemic. Key Points
Economic TimesAuto sector: A vroom story with room for more
High festive-season demand helped November notch up India’s largest monthly vehicle sales on record. Not just cars, two-wheelers too. Key Points
mintMaruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, M&M in focus on strong sales momentum, price hikes
Stock Market Today- Passenger Vehicles retails are expected to grow 6-8% YoY during the month of November largely driven by the festive season demand, as per analysts. The price hikes being taken by manufacturers from January are positive for margins and will be utilized for pushing December sales. Key Points
mintJapan raises bullet train rail pass prices by 70% for tourists
Bullet train rail pass offering 14 days of unlimited travel across Japan now costs ¥80,000 ($534), up from ¥47,250. The price hikes vary from about 65% to 77%. | Travel Key Points
Hindustan Times
Volume buster: Mro-Tek Realty, Swastik pipes, Orient Ceratech, and more have been large buyers
Nifty50 set to open higher, Dollar index falls, crude oil at $73.66. Market correction due to weak global cues, US bond yield surge, and upcoming interest rate hikes. High volume stocks to watch. Key Points
mintTata Motors to hike prices of its passenger vehicles by an average 0.6% from 17 July
Tata Motors had announced price hikes of 1.2% in January and 0.6% in April, citing increased input costs and regulatory changes, respectively. Key Points
ThePrintIndian importers must hedge near-term exposures on USD rally risk - analysts
Indian importers should hedge their near-term foreign currency payments on expectations that the U.S. dollar will rally in the next quarter on the back of more Federal Reserve rate hikes, several analysts said. Key Points
ReutersMarket wrap: Sensex, Nifty snap two-day winning run; investors lose over ₹2 lakh crore in a day
Sensex closed 284 points, or 0.45 per cent, lower at 63,238.89. The Nifty ended the day at 18,771.25, down 86 points, or 0.45 per cent. Key Points
mintAsian stocks stall as US rates seen higher for longer
The Fed left its benchmark funds rate window at 5-5.25%, and chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank needed to gather more information about the economy to determine what to do next. Key Points
Financialexpress
RBI to extend rate pause through year-end, likely done hiking, according to economists' poll
The Reserve Bank of India is predicted to maintain its interest rates until the end of the fiscal year, according to a recent Reuters poll of economists. Despite inflation remaining at the top end of the 2-6% tolerance range, most of the 51 participating economists do not expect the RBI to increase rates again in 2023. While around 16% predicted a possible 25 basis point hike to 6.75% by year-end, experts think that domestic growth-inflation dynamics may not provide the necessary room for such a cut. As such, most predicted that India would see policy rates remain higher for longer. Key Points
Economic TimesECB's Villeroy says markets 'overreacted' with rate hike bets
Investors betting on more interest rates hikes by the European Central bank have 'overreacted' to strong U.S. data and ECB communication since last week, the Banque de France Governor said in an interview published on Wednesday. Key Points
ReutersFor tech candidates, job switch doesn't pay what it used to; average hikes halve
Salary increases for tech recruits have decreased by more than half in the past year due to a hiring slowdown across the tech industry. Companies are no longer desperate to hire candidates with high-end niche tech skills at any cost. Average salary increases have fallen to 35-40% from 50-100% for roles such as full-stack engineers, data engineers, front-end engineers, SRE/DevOps, data scientists, and back-end engineers. This marks a significant slowdown from a year ago when candidates had multiple competing job offers. Key Points
Economic TimesWill oil and rain pour over the RBI MPC decision?
Tomorrow's MPC meeting is the first in the current financial year. In FY23, the MPC had raised the repo rate by a cumulative 250 bps to 6.5 per cent. The latest inflation print, for February, stood at 6.44 per cent, breaching the upper limit of RBIs tolerance band of 2-6 per cent for the second straight month. Key Points
Economic TimesRise in cement prices in Sep to offset energy cost hike: Experts
For September 2023 average prices are up 4% month-on-month and for second quarter are up 0.5-1.0% sequentially as per analysts at Jefferies India Private Ltd. Key Points
mint
Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal may deal with an unfinished agenda after Lok Sabha elections
Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal may wait for the Lok Sabha elections to finish before increasing telecom tariffs in the second half of 2024. Jefferies expects a 20% tariff hike in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. The government, which owns 33% stake in Vodafone Idea, may also favor tariff hikes to support the telco's survival. CLSA estimates that Bharti Airtel will lead tariff hikes to an Arpu of Rs 257 by fiscal year 2026. Key Points
Economic TimesLower interest rates forecast for 2024, but geopolitical tensions can keep monetary policy on its toes
Globally, the tone of monetary policy has also become less hawkish, suggesting that the most challenging phase of the cycle of increasing interest rates is now behind. This positive development has opened up the possibility of interest rate softening in 2024 to support economic growth. Key Points
Business TodayInfosys kicks off holiday season with long-awaited pay hike
The hikes, which typically are effective from April 1, have now been announced from November 1, 2023, ET has learnt. It does not include reviews for entry level workers of the IT services major, according to people aware of the matter. Key Points
Economic TimesIndian shares set to open higher on US rate hopes, lower oil prices
Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday and extend gains to a third consecutive week, helped by hopes of the U.S. Federal Reserve ending rate hikes and lower crude oil prices. Key Points
ReutersUS employers added a solid 187,000 jobs in August in sign of a still-resilient labor market
Despite high interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve, US employers added 187,000 jobs in August, indicating a resilient labor market. While this is an increase from July's gain, it still suggests a slower pace of hiring compared to earlier this year. The unemployment rate rose to 3.8%, the highest since Feb. 2022 but still low historically. Key Points
Economic Times/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/XSPHTQFZAJMA5DZLP63P7VHKU4.jpg)
Asian shares rise, dollar dips as traders await US inflation data
Asian shares nudged higher and the dollar was at a two-month low on Wednesday ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data that will help gauge whether the Federal Reserve is at the end of its aggressive rate hike policy. Key Points
ReutersTop central bankers see further tightening to counter inflation
Although policy is restrictive, it may not be restrictive enough and it has not been restrictive for long enough, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at a conference at the Portuguese resort of Sintra. His comments on inflation were largely echoed by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, both of whom said they expect more moves. Key Points
Economic TimesAsian shares falter on banking concerns, bonds bet on last rate hikes
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%% on Friday, erasing some of the recent gains to be up 1.7% for the week. Key Points
FinancialexpressCrude oil slips after unexpected build in US crude stocks
Brent futures, which have risen more than 3% this week, were down 48 cents, or 0.6%, at $74.84 a barrel at 0203 GMT. Key Points
FinancialexpressRBI may continue with pause on rate hike for longer period; next move will depend on economic data: Econom
Sinha said the pause perhaps is due to the fact that past rate hikes are still playing out and it now expects retail inflation to come in at 5.2 per cent lower than its earlier forecast of 5.3 per cent and if inflation does not fall, future rate hikes cannot be ruled out. Joshi noted that in an environment of volatile global developments and tight financial conditions, RBI will remain data-dependent on setting rates. Key Points
Economic Times
Wipro likely to skip pay hikes for top performers in key business line
The move comes at a time when India's No.4 software services exporter is dealing with a plethora of problems ranging from weak client spending to tough competition from larger rivals. Key Points
Economic TimesGold heads for quarterly fall with more rate hikes on horizon
By Deep Kaushik Vakil (Reuters) - Gold was bound for its first quarterly decline in three on Friday, squeezed by expectations for more U.S. interest rate hikes, but moderate inflation prints offered Key Points
ThePrintHigher rates needed to curb inflation: Powell
It may make sense to continue moving rates higher in the coming months, but at a more moderate pace, Powell said in response to lawmakers' questions about the Fed's plans. The timing of additional hikes will be based on incoming data, he said in his opening statement. Key Points
Economic TimesCrude oil steadies as market awaits US Federal Reserve rate outlook
Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $74.38 a barrel by 0340 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $69.43 a barrel, up 1 cent. Key Points
FinancialexpressConsumer, hospitality staff likely to get best salary hike in 5 years
According to Aon, a global professional services firm which tracks the talent trends, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is set to offer double-digit (10.1%) average pay hikes this year, for the first time since 2019, and the hospitality sector too is likely to pay much higher increments (9%) after a sharp fall (1.4%) in 2020 following the outbreak of Covid-19 which brought business to a halt. Key Points
Economic Times
Tech majors may reduce pay hikes by half as slump hurts
Over the last three years, as per data by Xpheno, IT Service bellwethers have collectively increased compensation costs by 64%, while collective revenues grew by a little over 57%. This shows that the input cost is much higher than the output being generated. Key Points
Economic TimesJunk bonds and market cycles: Lessons for today's investors
The legacy of Michael Milken and his junk bonds continues to persist with today's US junk loan market standing at $1.4tn. The HYB market is currently experiencing a high default rate at 6%, coinciding with a surge of the Indian equity market with over 30% of listed companies experiencing gains of over 30% in just three months. Central bank's synchronised interest rate hikes can lead to the uncovering of hidden excesses, just as it did when interest rates reached 5% in 2005 before the Global Financial Crisis emerged. As investors, it is essential to remain aware of potential risks during market cycles. Key Points
Economic TimesInstant View: What experts think of RBI's surprise rate decision
The central bank said its policy stance remains focused on withdrawal of accommodation , signalling it could consider further rate hikes if necessary. The pause in rate hikes is for this meeting only , said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Key Points
Economic TimesACC beats Q3 profit estimates on price hikes, strong demand
India Business News: ACC reported a higher-than-expected Q3 profit of 5.27 billion rupees ($63.4 million), driven by price hikes and strong demand for cement. The company' Key Points
Times Of India